


salad

by SALTYSIDER



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Asexual Character, Cooking, Croissants, Established Relationship, Fluff, Food, Homeless Jughead, Multi, Pancakes, Romance, Slight swearing, omelets, stereotypical food-loving jughead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 22:45:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9927476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SALTYSIDER/pseuds/SALTYSIDER
Summary: a short series where jughead tries to convince archie to let betty and veronica come over for brunch. :)





	1. brunch!

Archie’s soft snores were the only noise that could be heard throughout the room. Even though he doesn’t like to admit it, Jughead found them adorable while Archie couldn’t stand them. It was something the two argued about it all the time, their friends can confirm that. While Jughead was admiring Archie, he twirled the fiery red hair between his fingers. Archie stirred awake.  
“Hey, good morning.” His voice was raspy because it was only an hour after dawn, and that made Jughead’s mind swirl and forget everything that was going on around him.

“Morning! Now get up, I want to invite everyone over for lunch.” Archie’s growing smile soon dropped when he heard his boyfriend’s words.

“But Jug...” He groaned. Jughead rolled his eyes and sat up.

“Please, it would be fun.” Archie thinks this is the first time he’s seen Jughead excited about something since...forever. He racked his mind for reasons why the dark haired boy would want to eat anywhere except Pop’s, and soon remembered because they were closed for the day because of maintenance.  
“Do we have to? We see Veronica and Betty everyday, Betty’s literally the girl next door.” Archie pointed at the window. “I just want to spend the day with you, you practically just moved in.” 

Jughead froze. His mind wandered to when everyone found out he was homeless after the Twilight Drive-In closed. 

For the first time in years, Jughead went to bed without eating at Pop’s before. He could no longer chill in the back room of the Drive-In with his rock CDs and classic movies. All of that had to be packed up when an anonymous buyer decided that the historic place could be scrapped, and it’s leftover land would suffice for a bigger and better opportunity for more cash. Jughead was attempting to fall asleep underneath an awning of some random pawn shop in the center of Riverdale. Once he finally fell asleep, it was only 3 hours until he had to wake up. 

The sun shined brightly on Jughead's face, and as he woke up there was a sharp pain in his neck. He didn’t notice when his beanie slipped off as he sat up. People walked passed and gave him weird looks. To say he felt embarrassed was an understatement. Jughead was used to the coziness of the Drive-In.

He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and made his way to Riverdale High. As he walked on campus everyone stared at him...but more than usual. Jughead felt different, like something was missing. It wasn't until he went to his locker and all of his friends came up to him with confused faces.

“Is everything okay?” Veronica asked.

“Jug, are you hiding something from us? Ever since the Drive-In closed you’ve been more distant, and haven’t answered any of us.” Betty said. Her normally smiling face seemed very sad, her brows furrowed and eyes dull. Jughead slammed his locker shut and turned to his friends. Archie was standing right in front of him with his beanie. Jughead frowned.

“How--”

“I found it while walking to school today. What’s going on?” Archie cut him off. Their stares burned holes into his chest, and he started to feel claustrophobic. No one knew that Jughead was practically homeless. No one knew that he hadn’t seen Jellybean or his mother in years, and he can’t live with is dad. His personal life was hidden from everyone, even Archie.

“I lived in the Twilight Drive-In. That’s why I was so adamant about it not being torn down, besides the fact that I loved working there. That place was more of a home than anywhere else I’ve lived.” Jughead’s voice croaked, and he tried not to show any emotion. Out of nowhere he felt arms wrap around him, it was Veronica. Then Betty, and then Archie. The group engulfed the novelist in a warm hug, and Jughead couldn’t help but to feel a bundle of emotions.

“We’re always here for you when you need us.” Veronica said, giving Jughead a squeeze.

“Exactly, we care about you a lot. I know we can’t replace the Drive-In, but if you need a place to stay, you can crash at mine.” Archie said. The hug broke off and Jughead sighed.

“Thanks, guys. I feel a lot better than I did earlier this morning. I only got 3 hours of sleep...” Jughead’s laugh filled the hallway and Archie smiled. The bell rang and while waving goodbye everyone except Archie went to class. The redhead twirled the beanie around in his hands with a smirk on his face, and a blush crept upon Jughead’s cheek.

“I think that since I found your beanie I should wear it for the day.”

The dark haired boy laughed and rolled his eyes. “Give me my hat back, Archie. I’m being serious.”

“So am I. “ Archie said in a sing-songy tone. “Please? I’ll give it back later.”

Jughead sighed as Archie stared into his eyes with a pout. That made his heart flutter. “Fine, fine. But protect it like your first child. If anything happens to it I won’t hesitate to write a biased article about you in the newspaper. Yellow journalism is the best weapon.”

Archie slipped on the beanie on the beanie and pointed a finger at Jughead. “No prob. This is why you’re the best.” Archie hugged him tightly and gave him a peck on the cheek. Eventually they both went separate ways to their classes and met up later on in the day. Archie skipped football practice to catch up with Jughead. Long story short Archie had to convince Jughead that he shouldn’t feel bad if they lived together. In the end it was a win-win situation. They could spend more time together, and Jughead didn’t have to sleep on the ground.

“Jug...Jug.” Archie tapped his boyfriend’s arm.

“Sorry, I was daydreaming.” Jughead got out of bed and slipped on Archie’s grey sweatpants.

“It’s like you’re trying to kill me constantly.” Archie groaned as he got out of bed.


	2. croissants and omelets!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the part where betty, kev, and veronica come over!

The duo found themselves in the kitchen, “Come Fly With Me” by Frank Sinatra blasted on the radio as Archie was rolling dough out on a pan. Jughead texted his group of friends.

l0sers  
me: archie and i are inviting you all over for brunch! it’s at 11, text back if you can come.  
kev keller: count me in!  
ronnie lodgey: i’ll be there!  
mini cooper: *we’ll be there!! i am so excited, i tried telling veronica that we should get out of the house more, but she didn’t want to leave.  
ronnie lodgey: it’s sunday!  
archibald ♡: that’s exactly what i said! i mean, i love you guys, but i’m too lazy to host people today.  
me: aren’t you supposed to be rolling out the croissant dough???  
kev keller: shots fired!  
mini cooper: ooh! busted!  
ronnie lodgey: (and this is where, archie knew, he fucked up.)  
me: okay, well we’ll see you all soon!! 

Jughead cut his phone off and glared at Archie, who was scrolling through his texts instead of rolling the dough.

“Archie! Can you please focus? I’m trying to cope with not having a burger and fries today by replacing it with other forms of bread and you’re not helping!”

Archie put his phone down on the counter before turning to Jughead. He smiled nervously and started rolling the croissants. (Or at least trying to.) Jughead sighed before stepping in Archie’s place.

“This looks like the rat I saw underneath the bleachers the other day. Try again.” Jughead unrolled the morphed piece of dough and grabbed a photo of a croissant out of the utensil drawer.

“That’s the best croissant I’ve ever made! And why do we have that laying around?” Archie pointed at the high definition photo. Jughead placed it down on the counter next to the pan and turned to Archie.

“That’s just sad. And I found it left in the school printer so I grabbed it. You never know when you might need something. I know you can do better.” Jughead pecked Archie on the cheek and grabbed the eggs out of the fridge. He cracked them into a bowl and started mixing. When his back was turned, Archie thought it was a good idea to crack one on top of his head. (Thank goodness Jughead left his beanie in Archie’s room.)

“Archie.” He whined. Archie bursted into laughter as the doorbell rang. Jughead’s stomach churned as he walked to the door. The doorbell rang again and Jughead quickly opened it to reveal Betty and Veronica, who were holding a bowl covered in foil.

“What happened to you?” Betty asked as her and Veronica stepped into the house and closed the door.

“Yeah, and what is that in your hair?” Veronica set her purse down on the couch. “Are we interrupting something?” Jughead immediately turned as red as a tomato and was trying not to cover his face with his hands.

“He’s mad because I tried joking around with him after he destroyed my piece of art!” Archie yelled from the kitchen, still trying to make his croissant resemble the one in the photo.

“It was hardly art, let alone anything that could be edible.”

“Maybe it wasn’t edible because it wasn’t baked yet!”

“You guys are so cute, I’m internally screaming!” Betty said, smiling widely and sitting down next to Veronica on the couch. “We came over early to help you cook, and brought you a fruit bowl!”

“Thanks.” Jughead took the bowl and placed it on the counter. One by one, he threw a few pieces of fruit at Archie’s head.

“It took me forever to slice those!” Betty yelled.

Archie turned around and as Jughead kept throwing the fruit, he caught a grape in his mouth. He fist pumped, then haphazardly threw the pan of croissants into the oven at 400 degrees. Veronica went up to the pantry and sifted through everything, while Betty went into the fridge and pulled out the eggs and ham.

Jughead quickly ran upstairs and washed his hair in Archie’s bathroom sink, and decided to let it air dry. He went back down to the kitchen and 

“Where’s your electric mixer? And the flour...?” Veronica was puzzled. Didn’t every household have an electric mixer? She was so used to the luxuries she had back home in New York, she was still getting used to a completely different life. Before her Mom worked at a diner and her dad was arrested, they used to always make pancakes from scratch on Sunday mornings, that was kind of the norm for her.

“Some people aren’t as privileged as you, Ronnie.” Jughead turned to Veronica and smirked.

“If you can call me Ronnie, can I call you Juggie?” She mimicked the smirk on Jughead’s face. 

“Oh, fuck off.” He rolled his eyes and walked up to Betty. She cracked 2 eggs into a bowl and stirred them together. “Can I be of assistance?” Betty looked up and bursted into laughter. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her.

“Not trying to be rude, but I doubt you know how to make eggs. Your diet consists of fast food and milkshakes.” Betty continued whisking the eggs until they were a consistent bright yellow. Jughead glared into her soul. Is she challenging my cooking abilities? He thought.

“Betty, you just opened a Pandora’s box.” Archie mumbled, looking at his phone once again.

“I mean, she’s not lying. I’ve known him for a year and haven’t seen him eat anything besides fast food.” Veronica added, grabbing a bowl and pouring water and the mix into it.

“I’ll let you know that I am a food expert and can cook circles around you. Challenge accepted.” The doorbell rung again and Archie opened it.

“Oh, hello Archie.” Kevin said, walking in and leaving Archie confused as he closed the door.

“Kevin! Tell Jughead I’m a better cook than him!” Betty shouted.

“I’m sorry, but I think Jughead’s got you beat on this one. All he does is write and eat food, it’s like...apart of his being.”

“Don’t encourage them! This has happened before. I don’t really want another--” Jughead cut Archie off.

“Cooking Competition, part 5. Jones v. Cooper.” Jughead pushed himself off the counter and cracked his knuckles. “Archie, dish me.” Archie pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“Omelets. You both have to make omelets.” He turned to Kevin. “You’re gonna be the taster, because that’s the least biased option. In the next 20 minutes, they must make one serving for you to taste. Veronica and I are allowed to help prepare, but the chefs must do all of the cooking.” Archie set a timer on his phone.

Jughead and Archie rush the fridge and start pulling out ham and shredded cheese.The redhead tossed his boyfriend a chopping board, then Jughead pulled a knife from the butcher block and started slicing the Canadian bacon. Betty and Veronica poured salt and pepper into their bowl of already mixed eggs, and don’t hesitate to dash to the stove and turn on the largest pan.

“Aw, no fair! They took the biggest pan!” Archie sighed.

“Archie Andrews is concerned for his boyfriend, Jughead’s success in this competition.” Kevin said, mimicking a narrator.

“You snooze you lose.” Veronica said, leaning up against the stove, not noticing she turned up the flame to high. The smell of burning eggs soon filled the room. Betty jumped and turned the flame down, trying to save the eggs.

“Veronica Lodge just pushed her and Betty behind a lot, is there anything they can do to catch up and save their food? Will Kevin die because he’ll consume burnt eggs?”

“Oh. So sad, so sad. Looks like #Jarchie will remain undefeated.” Jughead said, pouring his seasoned egg mixture from before onto another pan and turning it to medium.

“Did you just use our ship name? Whenever I do that you make fun of me.” Archie crossed his arms and pouted. 

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m starting to think that it’s appealing.” Jughead smiled. A couple of minutes passed and Betty paced around the kitchen while Veronica was biting her nails anxiously. Archie was on his phone, and Kevin continued to annoyed everyone by narrating.

“Which team will win? #Beronica seems nervous because of their previous mishap, but will #Jarchie’s confidence get in the way of their culinary execution? Only time will tell.” Over the next couple of minutes Jughead was watching over the eggs, making sure the cheese-egg ratio was perfect, and finally adding the Candian bacon on the inside. He put the omelet on a plate and topped it with some diced cilantro. Meanwhile, Veronica was still scraping off the burnt bits, and Betty put way too much cheese on the inside as an effort to cover up the burnt taste.

“You two have 10 seconds. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2...1! Time is up, you must put your plates in front of Kevin.” Archie said. His phone timer dinged and the two “contestants” set their plates on the dining room table. Kevin frowned at Betty’s omelet.

“Okay, the first rating is going to be on presentation. Jughead you get a 9/10 because everything looks very neat and cooked evenly. One point off because of the cilantro--it reminds me of Chipotle. Betty...6/10. Your omelet looks like it went through a war zone before it landed on my plate.” Archie tossed Kevin a fork and he caught it, before trying each omelet. Everyone stared and him and waited for his verdict.

“Forsythe wins. Sorry, Betty.” Jughead smiles and nods while Betty rolls her eyes.

“This competition is rigged! How was I supposed to know that the knobs weren’t above the stove when I leaned?” Veronica asked, furrowing her brows.

“Well you see, there are 2 organs apart of the visual system called eyes. Since you don’t have glasses, I’m assuming you have 20.20 vision, and should have been able to notice the knobs on the stove. I win!” Jughead high fives Archie. “You’re also not supposed to lean on a stove anyway.” The oven dings, and Archie pulls out the decent looking croissants. Everyone takes one, and sits down at the table.

“This morning has been very...eventful.” Betty said, taking a bite into her croissant. Her face contorted before spitting out her food onto her plate.

Kevin covered his eyes. “Oh my god, that’s disgusting!”

“What in the absolute hell, Betty? Ew!” Archie yelled.

“Sorry. But they taste like shit, did you check the date on these?” Betty pointed at the bread and looked at Archie. He ran to the recycling bin and pulled out the Pillsbury can. The date read JAN 01 2017.

“Yeah, they’re no good. January 2017.” Archie said, putting the can back into the bin. Jughead had an epiphany.

“That’s why the dough looked weird, because it was expired!” Jughead took the foil that the croissants were in and threw it away. He quickly cooked the pancake mix Veronica made from earlier, but it wasn’t enough to feed everyone. Jughead opened the fridge and looked for anything else that would be quick to cook, and found a huge storage bag filled with leftover pancakes from the day before. “Does anyone want pancakes?” 

“Me!” The group of friends yelled. They were all put one one plate and then the microwave. Of course Jughead chose the biggest two out of the pile, and brought the rest to the table. Everyone grabbed two, and the food Archie didn’t finish, Jughead ate. These were the little moments that made life worthwhile. The moments when you spend lazy Sundays with the people you’re closest to, eating pancakes from yesterday, omelets from today, and creating memories that will last way further than tomorrow.  
\--  
Deleted scenes:  
“How’s everything been? Surprisingly I haven’t seen you a lot even though you live next door. I’m assuming you got an internship somewhere?” Archie asked. Betty nodded.

“Yeah! At a local paper. It’s pretty cool there, everyone is very professional and doesn’t try to censor my writing!” Betty clapped her hands and grabbed her phone. She pulled up a web page that showed her article.

“You talked about...Cheryl Blossom and--oh.” Archie’s brows furrowed at Jug’s words.  
The dark haired boy frowned and turned to Archie. “She wrote about Cheryl’s scandal with Reggie and Chuck, not whatever farcical summer fling you two had last year. I feel like throwing up just thinking about it.” Jughead cringed and got up to check on the croissants. The oven dinged and the smell of fresh bread wafted around the house. 

“Finally, I’m starving!” Archie yelled and Betty laughed. Times like this reminded the two of when it was just them as kids, hanging over each other’s houses since they were in close proximity. Archie would run over to Betty’s house and ring the doorbell multiple times until Betty’s mom answered, and then her and Betty would ride their bikes around the neighborhood. Sometimes Polly would come with them too.


End file.
